What OS is on the 8200 machine now?  Do youmean that your wfie wants to work independently of the domain but still have access to the internet?

If you install Server 2003 on the 8200, she will have to log into the domain to have access to the printer.  No way around that one. Why doesn't she just delete any access you have to her machine.

Internet access can be either thur or without the server domain as long as you don't create some Group Policy object denying it.

What if I just stick to XP Pro?  I've done a WWW server , Mail server on it... can I do a "domain?" too? if so.. can someone help me set it up?

Right now the 8200 has XP Pro.  and yes on your answer of my wife...but she wants to use a printer on the network.  Basically she has issues of privacey (loves secrets etc) and doesn't want me to be able to see her stuff (ie email etc), and doesn't want to lose any of her files/info she already hyas on her computer.

Thats about it i think :)

 

Silver

You can not create a root Domain using XP Pro.  This requires a server platform such as 2003.

so basically I have to lose everything on this comptuer (the 8200) in order to do what I want?

I've never heard of a dual boot system with one of the OS's being a server platform but you could get an old junker system and run the server on it. 

There's no need to loose your data if you partition your drive and move your data off to it.  I really think to relieve your wife's paranoia about the computer is to lock down the system with strong passwords and only two user accounts, here daily account and the admin account.

Ideally, you want an edge firewall of some sort so I would say put a router between the server and the modem but yes you will need two NIC cards, call them WAN and LAN for obvious reasons.  The LAN nic will feed the internal network.

ok... say i use one of the 400mhz systems... i need 2 Nic cards in it right? one for the DSL modem to come into and one to go out to the hub/router to the rest of the computers right?